


Is invisible to the eye

by changwoncat



Series: Is Invisible To The Eye [1]
Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-30 15:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15754419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changwoncat/pseuds/changwoncat
Summary: Mingyu and Wonwoo get caught by Dispatch.How will the situation be dealt with?





	1. Caught

CEO wants to see us right now.

The message comes on an unremarkable Tuesday morning. Most of the members are at the dorm, it’s a well-deserved rest day. Seungcheol had left not too long ago to hang out with the Vice President at the company. He usually uses a day off to his advantage by checking in with the V.P. about upcoming schedules and bringing up any complaints, needs or suggestions that the members may have. So when they get the message, it sounds serious. They all come streaming out of their rooms immediately, gathering in the living room. It’s become a habit to seek the company of all members when any tense situations arise.

“What do you think the CEO is calling us about?” asks Joshua.

“Who knows?” replies Jeonghan, unbothered.

“Is Hoshi hyung finally leaving the group to become a solo artiste and officially release Hurricane?” jokes Seungkwan.

“It might be about some changes at the company?” says Jun questioningly, “oh but they don’t usually calls us like this.” 

“We’ve all been on our best behaviour right?” asks Vernon, “No one did or said anything that the media can construe?”

They all nod.

“Cheol says that the managers are coming to pick us up now,” says Jeonghan reading from his phone.

“It’s not-,” starts Dino worriedly, “you don’t think this is about my dating rumour right?”

“No,” says Minghao, patting his thighs reassuringly, “that’s all in the past.”

“Yeah,” agrees Seungkwan, “Are you worried they’d kick you out?”

Dino nods. “Yeah, some of our fans haven’t been very accepting,” he says sadly.

“Don’t worry about it,” adds Hoshi, “I’m sure it’s not about that.”

“I hope the meeting is about something positive,” says Mingyu, “but from the sound of the text it doesn’t seem like it.”

“Maybe they’re finally sending us to Europe,” pipes up Seokmin, “we did say we wanted to go there for a world tour.”

“Yeah,” they all chorus positively, even though none of them believe that.

They eventually give up on forcing the mood, lapsing into silent conversations as they wait for the cars to arrive. They try to get it out of the managers of what the meeting could be about but all three remain tight-lipped.

 

Everyone is cautiously quiet when they arrive at the building, walking closely together as they enter. They immediately get sent up to one of the bigger meeting rooms.

In the room there is a large oval table taking up most of the space, there are sixteen large office chairs placed around it and at the helm is the CEO of the company, Han Sung Soo. His face does not betray the nature of the meeting. Seungcheol is seated next to him, his fingers tightly steepled together, with the Vice President seated opposite to him. 

“Take a seat,” says the CEO, not unkindly.

They all follow his orders quickly. Chan settling in next to Seungcheol with Mingyu, Wonwoo, Joshua and Jeonghan following him as the others fill up the other side of the table. The managers enter leaning against the walls due to the lack of chairs. The meeting shouldn’t be very long then.

The CEO’s eyes pass around the room, taking in each of them one by one then he lets out a sigh, tapping his fingers on the large yellow envelope in front of him that catches their attention, before he starts.

They’re all openly nervous, some of them are eerily still, some are fidgeting a bit but they’re all quietly waiting for the CEO to begin.

“Dispatch has photographs of two Seventeen members out on dates and they are threatening to go public with it,” he says smoothly, in one blow.

They all freeze in their seats at that, no one uttering a word for a long while. It could be any two of them. They all like going out and meeting with friends. Mingyu, Jun, Minghao, Dino, Vernon and Seungkwan tend to go out a lot and they have friends that are both male and female. This dating rumour could be just a simple misconception. However, there are members like Dino and Seungcheol who are currently dating. They’re all hoping it doesn’t turn out that either of them is caught.

Seungkwan gulps. “Who are the members?” he asks bravely, even though his voice betrays him.

They all turn their attention back to the CEO in the tense silence.

“It’s Mingyu and Wonwoo,” answers the CEO.

All attention in the room immediately turns to the two. They’re both frozen in shock. Mingyu can feel heat of their gaze and his own shame engulfs his head. Wonwoo is in a similar state beside him, he’d jerked at the sound of his name but his face quickly settles into an emotionless mask.

“I had no idea you guys were dating anybody,” says Seungcheol, confused. He sounds a little hurt as well, since the members are all pretty open about discussing their love lives.

“It’s not like that,” Wonwoo tries to say, feeling trapped. 

Mingyu’s head is bent. He hasn’t uttered a word yet.

“Is it,” starts Vernon, catching on, “are you guys together?”

They’re motionless for a moment, and then they both nod slightly, lowering their heads so as not to see the expressions on their members’ faces.

The room remains in silence at the discovery. The only noise breaking the gloom is a faint ‘called it’ from Soonyoung who quickly gets nudged by an exasperated Jihoon.

“They sent over some of the pictures here,” says the CEO into the silence, “I think you two should see it.”

Wonwoo and Mingyu both nod solemnly.

The CEO pushes the envelope onto the middle of the table, where it gets passed down to Wonwoo and Mingyu.

Mingyu’s hands are shaking as he opens it. There is a pressure in his head and all he can think about is how his career is over. There is no coming back from a scandal of this magnitude.

The other members are watching him curiously as he pours the pictures out in front of him. He can’t tell if it’s pity in their eyes or something else.

“You guys can look at it too,” he says pausing, “if Wonwoo hyung is okay with that.”

“It’s fine with me,” says Wonwoo, reaching for a photo.

“These were taken before we even debuted,” says Joshua as Mingyu holds up the first picture.

In the picture Mingyu and Wonwoo are outside the old Pledis building. Mingyu has him arms squeezed tightly around Wonwoo’s middle as he playfully bites his neck. They both have big smiles on their faces, not realizing that they’re being photographed.

“This picture doesn’t look so bad,” adds Seungkwan supportively from across the table, “we all do things like that.”

“There are more recent pictures as well,” states the CEO, encouraging Mingyu to go on.

There are about fifteen pictures, all taken throughout the years. The next picture Mingyu picks up is a lot more incriminating. This one is about a year old and in it Mingyu is giving Wonwoo a piggyback ride, their heads turned toward each other in a kiss. 

He can hear Jeonghan’s sigh from across him when he sees that picture.

Mingyu picks up another picture. This one is about a month old. They’re both in a parked car, Wonwoo is seated on Mingyu’s lap in the passenger’s seat and they’re engaged in a passionate lip lock, their hands in each other’s hair.

That had been a special day for them, a well-deserved day off just like this day was supposed to be. They’d decided to go out for a picnic near a hill overlooking the city. They’d had a good time just spending time together without interruption and without care of anything else but each other. He wants to cry in anger and frustration when he sees that one. That memory feels tarnished now.

Some of the pictures are blurry but they’re plenty incriminating. Wonwoo and Mingyu haven’t looked at each other since the bomb has been dropped, but Mingyu is fighting his usual reflex of looking at Wonwoo in tense situations to gauge what he’s feeling.

“If you’re all done looking at the pictures,” says the CEO, interrupting his thoughts, “I’ve already had a meeting with the Board and we’ve come up with a solution.”

Mingyu shoves the pictures back into the envelope sliding it toward the CEO.

“We’re sorry,” Mingyu states, rising up, his torso bowed down low.

“I’m sorry too,” says Wonwoo, obviously thrown but copying his gesture.

The Vice President looks at them with a slightly amused smile.

“This isn’t the first nor will it be the last dating scandal that this company will have to deal with,” he says, speaking for the first time since they’ve walked in.

“It is to be expected when you have so many young kids in a company,” adds the CEO, “now let us discuss a solution to this problem.”

“Do we have to pay a fee to get Dispatch off our backs?” asks Dino concernedly. 

The CEO shakes his head. “It’s not money that they want. They want a scandal. Since its Mingyu and Wonwoo that are involved in this issue, only they will be involved in any solutions we have to come up with to hide this one. We will not involve any one of you.”

“What can be a bigger scandal than this one?” says the Vice President, not unkindly, “a gay scandal involving two members of a top boy group.”

Mingyu cringes at that as Wonwoo continues to stare expressionlessly at the table in front of him.

“It doesn’t have to necessarily be bigger,” says the CEO, clearing his throat, “a scandal involving a top boy group member and a top girl group member would be big enough.”

“You want one of them to date a girl group member?” asks Seungcheol, disbelievingly. 

“We’re not asking them to break up,” says the CEO patiently, “one of them will just be acting for the media.”

The members all take in the CEO’s proclamation wordlessly.

“Have you already selected someone for one of us to date?” Mingyu asks meekly.

The members all look to him at that. The pity is more that evident on their faces.

“Yes we have,” states the CEO, “we’ve been in contact with Fantagio Entertainment. Since they’re trying to cover up a scandal as well, they’ve been happy to help us. One of you will be dating Kim Doyeon of Weki Meki.”

“It will be a believable story if Mingyu does it,” adds the Vice President, “you have mutual friends. Your story will be that you guys eventually fell in love after hanging out with mutual friends.”

Mingyu closes his eyes for a second. Deception, it’s not something he’s great at. Since he was a little kid he’s worn his emotions plainly on his face. Unfortunately, he has no choice in this matter.

“Ok,” he says putting on a brave face, “I’ll do it.”

The details are quickly worked out after. Mingyu and Doyeon will be meeting the next day at a restaurant that idols usually go for dates at. An insider at Pledis would then inform Dispatch who would send someone to take pictures of the idol couple who are ‘secretly dating’ and then the ‘relationship’ would be exposed. It’s all pretty simple.

 

The meeting comes to an end and they all pile back into their cars and set off for the dorm. The air is tense in the Hip Hop Unit car. Vernon typically has his headphones on as soon as they set off anywhere but today he’s just silently staring out the window. Seungcheol seems to be going out of his way to not look at any of them and Mingyu and Wonwoo are both visibly shaken, letting the silence continue.

“You know, you guys could’ve come to me with this,” says Seungcheol eventually, “You know I would’ve understood. I came out to you guys before we even debuted.”

They don’t say anything for a while. Seungcheol lets out a sad sigh.

Wonwoo starts, “We’ve had feelings for each other for a long time. For a while we didn’t know what we were really doing, if we could call this dating. We didn’t talk about it much so it just never occurred to us that we should tell anybody. We weren’t expecting something like this to happen.”

“We’ve been really careful,” adds Mingyu, “For someone to have gotten these pictures; they would’ve had to stalk us for a very long time. I promise you we were being as careful as we could.”

“Too late now, Mingyu,” says Seungcheol, “Let’s just focus on making this scandal go away.”

The trip continues in uncomfortable silence.

“Would you guys have told us?” pipes up Vernon suddenly, “if this hadn’t happened, would you have ever trusted us enough to say anything?”

“Yes,” says Mingyu confidently, “We would have said something eventually.”

“It’s not about trust,” says Wonwoo, “Of course we trust you guys. It was just kind of scary to bring up. Even though I knew you guys would accept us, I was still scared.”

“Me too,” admits Mingyu.

“We’ll help you guys out as much as we can,” says Seungcheol turning around to face them, “Just promise me, no more secrets.”

“No more secrets,” they both echo.

 

After arriving at the dorm they call a quick group meeting. The members are still smarting a bit at the lack of trust but they don’t seem to be mad about them dating. The group loudly assure them that they love them just as much as before and let them know that they are willing to help in any way that they can. Soonyoung makes a dirty joke at their expense that horrifies half the group but nevertheless it lifts the mood. They do a loud exaggerated group cheer for old times’ sake and the meeting ends with the members in a much better mood.

Wonwoo whispers a quick ‘we need to talk’ in Mingyu’s ear before he can leave at the end of the meeting. They sequester themselves in the bedroom that Wonwoo shares with Seungcheol.

“Today has been quite a day,” says Mingyu flopping onto the bed with a loud sigh as Wonwoo closes the door. 

Wonwoo comes to sit on the bed beside him, biting his lips in uncertainty.

“What’s wrong?” asks Mingyu, eyes softening.

Wonwoo raises an eyebrow at him. “You’re really asking ‘what’s wrong’?”

“Other than the obvious,” says Mingyu reaching for his hand. He is in an oddly relaxed mood given the situation that they’re in.

“Aren’t you worried?” asks Wonwoo, “Dispatch can still expose us if they want to. They still have our pictures. Even if they say they’ll return it, we can’t trust that it’s the truth.”

“We have no other option that to trust them right now” says Mingyu softly as Wonwoo sighs.

“I’m scared,” Mingyu whispers after a while, as he mindlessly plays with Wonwoo’s fingers.

“Me too,” echoes Wonwoo lying down next to him, resting his head on Mingyu’s shoulder. They lie there in silence for a while, both deep in thought.

“I think we should break up” says Wonwoo suddenly, voice cracking.

He can feel Mingyu immediately tense under him.

“Why?” asks Mingyu, stroking his hands down Wonwoo’s back comfortingly.

“Wouldn’t things be easier if we break up?” he continues, “There’ll be no pictures for them to take, no scandals to damage the group’s reputation, to ruin everyone’s careers.”

“Is it that simple for you?” asks Mingyu, hurt.

“How is any of this simple?” replies Wonwoo exasperatedly, as they settle into silence again.

“Is that really what you want?” Mingyu asks eventually.

He can feel Wonwoo’s nod on his neck. He tries to hold back tears as his heart breaks.

“I think it’s the best thing to do right now,” Wonwoo whispers sadly.

“What sense does it make, two people being in love with each other but not being together?” asks Mingyu, a little desperately.

“Sometimes life doesn’t make sense Mingyu,” says Wonwoo sadly, “Sometimes people aren’t meant to be together even though they love each other.”

“Hyung,” says Mingyu, tears blurring his vision, “I love you. I really love you.”

“I love you too Mingyu,” says Wonwoo, hiding his face in Mingyu’s shirt.

“Do you really want to break up?” asks Mingyu again.

“Please do this for me,” whispers Wonwoo, heartbreakingly.

“Ok,” Mingyu agrees, sounding dejected.

They lie there together for what feels like a few minutes but turns out be several hours. They don’t say anything else. They just hold each other as scary thoughts continue to rack their minds and weigh down their hearts. It’s pass nine o’clock when Mingyu gets off the bed.

“Goodbye Jeon Wonwoo,” says Mingyu standing by the bedroom door, his face reddened from rubbing at his tears.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” says Wonwoo smiling softly at him from the bed, with similarly red eyes and dishevelled hair.

Mingyu nods turning the knob to leave.

“Wait,” says Wonwoo, scrambling up from the bed.

He walks toward Mingyu stopping at a reasonable distance.

“Just,” starts Wonwoo, “I just wanted to say that I hope someone out there can love you like you deserve to be loved.” 

He chokes at the last word.

Mingyu tears up at that. “I hope for that for you too.” 

Wonwoo nods, trying to hold in his tears.

“Who’s being dramatic now?” Mingyu says, smiling softly as Wonwoo mirrors his smile.

“I’m sad it doesn’t get to be me,” says Wonwoo.

“Maybe one day again,” Mingyu’s voice wavers, “all you have to do is ask.”

He reaches forward, cupping Wonwoo’s face one last time and leaves the softest of kisses behind before turning the door knob and leaving. He rushes to his room where he can cradle his broken heart as he cries at the loss of the love he dreamed would last forever.


	2. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a 3-shot. I will eventually add an epilogue or two.

Friday morning, bright and early, the news breaks.

The managers highly discourage them all from going on social media. They don’t expect that the response would be largely positive given the age group of their fans. However, the board of directors seems sure that no major financial losses would be incurred due to the scandal. 

The members forego all warnings. They log into their secret twitter accounts. Twitter is a mess of differing opinions. A lot of the responses are positive, mainly the ones from international fans, but a considerable amount of responses are negative. There are also some nasty and threatening messages that the company may have to take a closer look at. 

Wonwoo is locked up in his room, lying on his bed with his phone above his face. He’s scrolling through their fancafe. There are quite a lot of encouraging messages there for Mingyu. When he logs into twitter, he sees that a lot of people are already praising the new couple, saying how much they complement each other, how good they look together and about their excellent chemistry and how clear it is that the two are in love. The tweets leave a bad taste in his mouth. He drops the phone on his bed, turns to lie on his side and closes his eyes, hoping that it will all be over with soon. 

Soonyoung and Jihoon eventually storm in breaking up his pity party. They lie down on both sides of him, throwing their arms over his middle without breaking the silence. However, in true Soonyoung fashion, no time at all has passed before he opens his mouth.

“Why did you break up with Mingyu?” Soonyoung asks, sounding unsure as if the question alone would result in Wonwoo having a mental breakdown.

“It’s better this way,” replies Wonwoo.

“Better for you or better for the group?” asks Jihoon.

“Both,” Wonwoo answers.

“Well, you’re not wrong about the second one. Fraternization between group members is a really bad idea. It can cause unnecessary conflict and result in members leaving and groups breaking up,” he says boredly.

Soonyoung shoots him a horrified look, mouth gaping unattractively.

“However, sometimes members develop feelings for other members in their group and if they fall in love or get together, it usually is a good choice to communicate efficiently,” Jihoon adds, “with the group and the other person.”

“So, if you were thinking that you guys breaking up would be better for the group then you’re wrong,” continues Jihoon, “those things also cause unnecessary conflict.”

They don’t say anything for a while.

“I’m afraid,” says Wonwoo, breaking the silence.

“Of what?” asks Soonyoung.

“Of being the reason that this group falls apart, of ruining the careers of all of you, of ruining Mingyu’s life, of Mingyu hating me because I ruined his life,” Wonwoo says in exasperation.

“Wonwoo,” starts Jihoon, “you know that you and Mingyu are equally involved in this, right? None of this is your fault. I’m sure Mingyu understands that.”

“Yeah, don’t hurt him and don’t hurt yourself,” adds Soonyoung, “what’s done is already done.”

“You two need each other even more right now,” adds Jihoon, “you’re both going through a hard time. Let him be your comfort and you be his comfort. It’s the only way you two can survive this.”

“People break up all the time,” says Wonwoo, “not all love stories are meant to end happily. With time Mingyu would find someone else and fall in love. Isn’t it better for all of us if that happens? It would be like this part never happened.”

“That’s selfish of you,” says Jihoon, “you’re making all the decisions without consulting him or thinking about how he feels. That’s not how relationships work.”

“Well, we’re not in a relationship anymore,” says Wonwoo petulantly.

“That’s such a cop out,” says Jihoon, “I guess you’re not in the mood to listen to us right now but you needed to hear it. What you do about it now is your business.”

 

Before they know it, a whole week has passed. It felt entirely too long yet like it went by in a blink of an eye.

Mingyu is on his way out of the dorm when they unexpectedly meet in the kitchen. Wonwoo is just entering to grab a bag of tangerines that Seungkwan had bought the other day and then crawl back into his bed and feast on it. He’s not actively avoiding Mingyu. He would just rather save them both the awkwardness and pain right now. He knows things will go back to a certain level of normalcy after a while.

“Hey,” Mingyu says simply. He’s eyeing Wonwoo up and down. It has been a week since they’d last seen each other for any extended period of time.

“Hey,” Wonwoo echoes back. He probably makes quite a sight right now in his too large t-shirt and pyjama pants that he hasn’t changed out of in two days.

The air around them is definitely awkward. Neither of them know how to move pass a greeting now when before they could stay up all night talking.

“Where are you going?” asks Wonwoo as he searches for something to say.

“Gino’s Pizza,” replies Mingyu.

“Oh, you’re hanging out with your friends,” says Wonwoo.

“Actually I’m hanging out with Doyeon,” says Mingyu shyly, “Since we’re fake dating and all we figured we should get to know each other better.”

“Oh,” says Wonwoo quietly.

“Yeah,” says Mingyu unsurely, “I’ll see you later hyung.”

“Ok,” says Wonwoo forcing a smile on his face, “Have fun.”

Mingyu nods back at him with a smile and then he leaves.

“Well, that was painful to watch,” says Jeonghan coming into the kitchen before Wonwoo can even figure out what he’s feeling.

He jumps at the sudden intrusion. “You scared me hyung.” 

Jeonghan shoots a judgmental look at his clothes that clearly says ‘you too’.

He ignores it.

“Things will be back to normal in no time,” says Wonwoo.

“Well, the ball is in your court,” Jeonghan shoots back, before sliding off to wherever.

Wonwoo returns to his room without the tangerines where he continues to scroll through social media. There are still the same old pictures from a few days ago when Mingyu had gone out with Doyeon again. They had gone to some bowling alley in Hongdae and then to a sushi restaurant. They really did look as good together as people were saying. They were both tall and attractive and their personalities seemed to complement each other well. It seemed like Wonwoo’s other fears were about to come true.

 

Mingyu has been having an entirely miserable week. He knows that they are broken up now, but he doesn’t understand why Wonwoo seems to go out of his way to avoid him. Breaking up was his idea after all. He’s not under any delusion that Wonwoo isn’t hurting too but he wishes he’d consider his pain too. Avoidance tends to hurt a lot too. 

He’d gone on his first ‘date’ with Doyeon the previous week. He was really awkward but the date itself wasn’t so bad. She was refreshingly interesting and funny and they had a lot of interests in common as well as mutual friends. He’d had a good time but it did feel weird being in a date setting with someone who was not Wonwoo. They made plans to go out together again and that quickly turned into even more ‘dates’. They haven’t spoken about the issue that landed them together in the first place. Pledis readily reminded him that that ‘issue’ was not to be spoken of to anyone since they were trying to hide it and all.

Today Doyeon wanted Italian so they’re at Mingyu’s favourite pizza place.

“What took you so long?” she greets him with a big smile as he seats himself opposite her at the table.

“Left home a little late,” he replies. He fails to mention that he’d spent a good fifteen minutes freaking out in an elevator because his ex-boyfriend looked so adorable in his sleep rumpled clothes with his rounded glasses and he really wanted to kiss him but couldn’t.

They get their pizza soon after, half meat lovers for Doyeon and half margherita for him and they converse quietly as they eat.

“I was thinking,” says Doyeon after a while of quiet contemplation, “I was wondering if you wanted to make this a real thing. As in we should date for real.”

Mingyu is frozen with half a slice of pizza in his mouth. He quickly swallows trying to find something to say.

“I… uhhh,” he stumbles, “I… Can I get some time to think about it?” he says not wanting to reject her outrightly. He’s silently kicking himself because he knows that’s the wrong answer and he should just be upfront about it.

She accepts his answer graciously even though it’s not the one she wants to hear and they continue on with their date.

 

Mingyu has a full on headache by the time he gets back to the dorm. All he wants to do is to sleep and stop thinking about the new situation he’s found himself in. But it doesn’t look like that would happen anytime soon because as soon as he opens the door to the dorm he is immediately cornered by three people.

“We need to talk to you,” says Seungcheol motioning to Mingyu’s room where Jihoon is currently opening the door for Jeonghan.

He sighs giving up on any thought of rest.

“What do we need to talk about?” asks Mingyu taking a seat on his bed as Seungcheol closes the door behind them.

“About you and Wonwoo,” says Jeonghan, “and before you say anything about there being no ‘you and Wonwoo’ anymore, stop lying to yourself. This is just an unnecessarily drawn out break because you both refuse to talk to each other like adults.”

Mingyu pouts at that. He was planning on saying exactly that and hoped that they’d just leave him alone.

“What do you want me to do?” he says exasperatedly, “He’s the one who wanted to break up. I don’t know what to do other than to just give him what he wants.”

“But you’re both miserable,” says Seungcheol.

“I can’t deal with you two behaving like this anymore,” says Jihoon butting in, “I’ve been trying to write a song with Wonwoo for the past couple of days and all of his lyrics are depressing. It’s an upbeat love song for Christ’s sake!”

“You’re all worried about him but no one’s thinking about how I’m feeling,” says Mingyu cuttingly, “He’s not the only one who almost had his career ruined, he’s not the only one going through this break up, he’s not the only who’s scared and hurting. Do you know how hard it is to go outside and pretend that I’m happily in love with someone else? This is hard for me too.”

“That’s why you should do something Mingyu,” says Jeonghan calmly.

“What more can I do? I’m already doing what he wants,” says Mingyu.

“You know this isn’t truly what he wants,” says Seungcheol, “he’s just scared. Try to talk to him again and clear the air between the two of you. Whatever you guys decide after that, we’ll all support you.”

“We’re sorry we left you to go through this alone Mingyu,” says Jeonghan, “in the future please know that we’ve got your back.”

“I know, hyung,” says Mingyu, “I guess I’ll try again. Later. Right now all I want to do is sleep.”

“Ok, Mingyu,” says Seungcheol satisfied with his involvement. They all leave Mingyu to his slumber. He buries his face in his pillow and slips into sleep for a few peaceful hours.

 

A week has passed again without Mingyu and Wonwoo addressing the elephant in the room. They’re not as awkward around each other anymore. They’re running into each other much more frequently and have taken to saying simple ‘his’ and ‘byes’. The only awkward moment they had to endure was when Mingyu walked into the bathroom and almost got into the shower with Wonwoo as he was so accustomed to doing. Thankfully it didn’t set them back too long.

He’s on his way out to a ‘date’ with Doyeon again. He’s planning to officially reject her and hope that this does not make however long this arrangement lasts into an uncomfortably awkward period. 

They’re back at the bowling alley again, since it’s one of their shared interests. Mingyu is getting them both milkshakes when two teenage girls suddenly materialise in front of him.

He turns to them with a polite smile, assuming that they’re his fans.

“This is for betraying us,” says one of them before they both empty their milkshakes all over his clothes. 

He is frozen where he stands, embarrassment steadily creeping in. The cashier has already gotten the security guard to guide the girls out and Doyeon is at his side lamenting the state of his clothes and asking if he’s okay but he’s too shocked to move. He feels kind of numb. His brain seems to be saying ‘just another shitty thing to happen, in another shitty day of your shitty existence’. He eventually rouses from his stupor quickly apologizing to Doyeon before booking it to the dorm.

When he arrives there the first person he sees is Wonwoo who is propped up on one end of the couch reading a book.

He looks up instantly at Mingyu’s arrival.

“What happened?” asks Wonwoo, eyes narrowing concernedly as he takes in Mingyu’s appearance.

“Fans,” is all Mingyu responds. He feels sticky and is still burning from embarrassment and now anger and hurt as well.

Before he can leave for his room, Minghao walks in eyes focused on his phone as he is about to tell Wonwoo something. When he spots Mingyu he lets out a sad sigh.

“I just saw what happened,” says Minghao motioning to his phone, “someone posted up pictures already. The good thing is that most of our fans are criticizing them for what they did, they aren’t taking their sides.”

“Our fans did this to you?” asks Wonwoo in surprise, “Because you’re publicly dating?”

Mingyu nods. “I’m going to get cleaned up,” he says walking toward his room.

“The backlash would’ve been even worse if our scandal had broken,” Wonwoo murmurs to himself.

Mingyu stops at that. 

Without turning around he says angrily, “I would have endured that backlash too, at least it would have been worth it.” 

He leaves for his room not wanting to hear whatever rebuttal Wonwoo would come up with.

He washes himself mechanically, dresses and falls into bed with his hair still wet. Tears are clouding his vision now. He feels like it’s all he’s done lately, crying, grieving, and waiting for the days to pass by until they get to a point of normalcy. He can’t even envision what this normalcy would look like. For so long normalcy was having Wonwoo at his side, being able to talk to him about anything he could think about, being able to touch him and hold him whenever he wants, knowing that there was someone there he could be his absolute true self with and still be loved. 

There’s a soft knock on the door before he sees the knob turn. 

Wonwoo steps into his room with uncertain steps. He’s carrying a white bath towel and it’s all Mingyu’s dazed eyes can focus on.

“I knew you wouldn’t dry your hair before you go to sleep,” says Wonwoo walking further into the room. He holds up the towel when he reaches Mingyu’s bedside.

As if on auto pilot Mingyu rises from the bed into a seated position. Wonwoo places the towel on his head, hands moving over it surely and comfortingly as he dries Mingyu’s hair.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Wonwoo asks after a while.

Mingyu shakes his head no.

After thinking for a little bit he says, “If you don’t mind, would you just lie here with me for a while?”

Wonwoo really wants to say no to that but he’s always been unable of withholding any affection from Mingyu.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” he says.

He places the towel to dry on a nearby chair and climbs onto the bed. They’re both facing each other, eyes wide open.

“I don’t want to talk right now,” whispers Mingyu, “but in the morning, can we please talk?”

Wonwoo nods. Then they both close their eyes and slip into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!


	3. New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of an epilogue I've decided to do a three-shot sequel!
> 
> This may or may not turn into a kinda series thing.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it!

“Where are you going?”

Mingyu is shaken from his sleep when he feels the shift on the mattress. He turns around still bleary eyed. Wonwoo is at the edge of the bed, a slight look of guilt on his face.

“You were leaving to avoid the conversation we need to have, weren’t you?” Mingyu asks. 

He’s not surprised, in fact what surprises him is that Wonwoo stayed the whole night, he expected him to be gone by the time he woke up.

“No, I just think we should brush our teeth before we have any conversation,” replies Wonwoo.

“Ok,” says Mingyu rising quickly from the bed with a wide smile, “let’s go brush our teeth.”

He isn’t making the mistake of letting Wonwoo out of his sight until they have this long overdue conversation.

Wonwoo looks at him a little worriedly. Mingyu knows the older is concerned because of what happened the previous day. However, he’s gotten up feeling better than he has felt in a long time.

They both brush their teeth then Mingyu asks, “Do you want breakfast before conversation too?”

Wonwoo shakes his head no, “Let’s do this first.”

They’re back in Mingyu’s room. Neither of them says anything for a while. Mingyu is staring at Wonwoo, it’s been a long while since he’s had the opportunity to do that, and Wonwoo is staring at the hardwood floor.

“So, what conversation do we need to have?” asks Wonwoo breaking the silence.

“About us,” says Mingyu, sighing.

Wonwoo nods, steeling himself for the conversation.

“I don’t want to break up,” says Mingyu abruptly.

That seems to get Wonwoo’s attention because he looks up quickly.

“Before you say anything, please hear me out,” says Mingyu, holding his palms up.

Wonwoo nods.

“I don’t want to break up. I know that us dating is risky but I love you and have no intention of stopping so I want to continue dating for as long as we both want to,” says Mingyu, “of course if you really don’t want to I’ll respect your wishes.”

“Mingyu, this is going to be really hard,” starts Wonwoo, “something like this could happen again. I know you Mingyu. I know how much you value approval and acceptance from everyone around you. If this gets out, you’ll be really hurt and I don’t want to be the reason that you’re hurt.”

“Hyung, if that’s the only reason you can come up with to not date me then this is easier than I thought,” says Mingyu, “I think I would rather live in a world that hates me with the person that loves me by my side instead of living in a world where I can’t be myself for fear of hate, without you by my side.”

“Mingyu, are you thinking about this seriously?” asks Wonwoo, a little frustrated.

“It’s not a game to me, hyung,” says Mingyu harshly, “I can’t predict what would happen in the future. All I know is what I want right now and what I hope would happen in the future. And in both scenarios it is you that I see.”

“Mingyu, I’m afraid,” says Wonwoo.

“Of what?” asks Mingyu.

“Everything,” says Wonwoo, “of the world hating me, my parents hating me, you hating me.”

“Hyung, I can’t assure you that it won’t be difficult but please know that I won’t hate you. I know what I’m saying okay,” says Mingyu, “let’s just take this chance. Maybe things will work out. If they don’t, we at least tried our best.”

Wonwoo considers what Mingyu said for a few moments.

“Okay,” he says.

“It’s alright to be scared Wonwoo hyung. I am too,” says Mingyu.

Wonwoo looks up at him questioningly.

“Wait, did you just say yes?” asks Mingyu, excitedly.

“I said yes,” says Wonwoo, a small smile blooming on his face.

Mingyu looks at him smiling his warm, beautiful smile.

“I’m so happy right now,” says Mingyu pulling Wonwoo toward his chest in a hug.

“It’s definitely the best day I’ve had in a long time,” says Wonwoo resting his head comfortably on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“And the day is still young,” says Mingyu lying back with Wonwoo in his arms, “let’s go on a date later?”

“Let’s have a date here,” suggests Wonwoo, “I’m not ready to go on any public dates just yet.”

“Ok,” agrees Mingyu.

“Let’s just stay like this for a while,” says Wonwoo before the other could pull away.

Mingyu nods wordlessly, tightening his hold around Wonwoo as he lets out a sigh of relief.

They stay like that for a while until they hear a little growl coming from Wonwoo’s belly.

“Let’s go get breakfast now,” says Mingyu as Wonwoo rolls off of him. He places a small peck on the older boy’s forehead before heaving himself up.

“What’s there to eat?” asks Wonwoo as Mingyu opens the fridge.

“Leftover jajangmyeon,” answers Mingyu. 

Wonwoo screws his face up.

“I could make ramen,” says Mingyu.

“Yes, instant ramen,” says Wonwoo hefting himself up on the counter, “I really just want to go back to bed and lie there with you all day.”

“Is that all you want to do?” asks Mingyu flirtatiously as he removes two packs of ramen from the cupboard.

“I’m sure we’ll find other things to do,” says Wonwoo teasingly.

“You bet we will,” says Mingyu dropping the ramen on the counter before he comes to stand between Wonwoo’s spread legs.

He cups the other’s face, Wonwoo immediately tilting his chin up.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” whispers Mingyu.

Wonwoo nods bringing their lips closer together before Mingyu closes the gap between their lips. They start off slow and deep, Mingyu places teasing kisses on Wonwoo’s lips as the other tries to deepen it. Mingyu has one hand cupping Wonwoo’s face tightly, the other mindlessly stroking his back. Wonwoo has his legs tightened firmly around Mingyu’s waist, both his arms around the other’s shoulders as one hand digs into his hair as they kiss passionately. The kissing slows down eventually as they both try to catch their breaths. 

“Let’s continue this when we’re done with the ramen,” suggests Mingyu, a little breathlessly. 

“No,” says Wonwoo hoarsely, “let’s go back to bed now.” He tightens his legs around Mingyu’s waist.

“You have to eat,” says Mingyu softly, his breath ruffling Wonwoo’s fringe.

“Eat later,” says Wonwoo stubbornly as he props his chin on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“If you insist,” says Mingyu, hefting Wonwoo up from the counter. The other lets out a little squeak, tightening his arms around Mingyu’s neck as they make their way to Wonwoo’s bedroom.

It’s past mid-day when they finally have breakfast. They end up microwaving the leftover jajangmyeon, shuffling the food down before they head back to the bedroom again.

 

When the members return to dorm from wherever they’ve spent their day off, it is to the sight of Wonwoo and Mingyu on the living room couch, blanket spread over them, a bowl of popcorn in the middle and a movie playing on the laptop as they cuddle. 

“How did we not realise before that they’re dating?” says Chan, indicating the sight in front of them, “they’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“I guess we were more oblivious that we thought,” adds Jun as the two look up from the couch at the interruption.

“Where were you guys?” asks Wonwoo, “You’ve been gone all day.”

“Umm… we went out to eat,” says Jun.

“You went out to eat at 9:00 a.m and you’re now back at 5:00 p.m.?” asks Mingyu disbelievingly.

“Yep,” says Jun.

The two lift their eyebrows in response.

“Alright, you caught us,” says Chan, “Jeonghan hyung said you guys might talk about things today and we didn’t want to be in the way so we all went out.”

“You guys had a group dinner without us?” says Mingyu, feigning hurt.

“Like you would’ve preferred that over this,” says Jeonghan, coming in through the door.

“So, is everything okay now?” asks Seungcheol before Mingyu can protest.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” says Wonwoo, “You don’t have to worry about us.”

“Sure,” says Chan, eyeing them disbelievingly.

“Well, that’s great,” says Jihoon, “We’re happy for you guys. It would also be great if both of you would finish up your parts for the song I sent you.”

“They get an extension but I don’t?” asks Seungcheol, incensed.

“Were you the one roaming the halls like a depressed ghost for weeks?” asks Jihoon.

“Hey,” Mingyu says, “not cool.”

“He was referring to Wonwoo hyung, not you,” adds Minghao.

“Yeah, you’re not the roaming kind,” says Soonyoung, “You’re more of the sad, puppy dog eyes until they give in type.” 

“Do you guys want to watch the movie with us?” asks Mingyu before the members could discuss them any further.

“Weren’t we be interrupting your time together?” asks Seungkwan.

“No, you never did before,” says Wonwoo, “We like spending time like this with you guys too.”

“Ok then! Dibs on Mingyu!” shouts Soonyoung crashing onto the couch next to him.

“Damn it!” swears Jeonghan, “He already claimed the best cuddler in the group.”

“I’ll cuddle with you hyung,” says Minghao, stroking Jeonghan’s hair.

“Okay, but group meeting after this,” says Seungcheol.

Mingyu groans.

They all gather around the couple and lose themselves in the movie playing on the screen for a little while.

When the movie is over, Mingyu tries to run away saying he’s got to go to the bathroom.

“Nope, you’re staying right here,” says Joshua, pushing him back down.

“I really need to pee,” insists Mingyu.

“It’s a brief meeting,” says Jeonghan, “you can hold it in.”

Mingyu gives up.

“Alright,” starts Seungcheol from the other couch, “I want everybody’s attention for this.”

They all turn to listen to him.

“I don’t blame any of you for keeping secrets,” he says, “I know how scary it can be to admit something like that in a society like this. But we are a family. And we accept each one of you just the way you are. If you’re ever scared or have doubts about anything, you can come to us. This goes for all of you.”

Mingyu nods in his puppy-like way.

“I just want you guys to be more careful in the future,” says Seungcheol, directing his eyes to Mingyu and Wonwoo.

They both nod yes.

“That’s it?” Mingyu asks, surprised.

“Does anyone else have anything to say?” asks Seungcheol.

“I have a question,” says Chan, “how did you guys hide your relationship so well?”

“Looking for ideas Chan?” asks Jeonghan.

“I’m open to suggestions,” answers Chan.

“You shouldn’t ask them,” pipes up Soonyoung, “they’re the ones who got caught.”

“Yeah, but they hid it well from us,” says Chan.

“Point,” says Soonyoung.

“I guess you guys never figured it out because we’ve always behaved the same,” says Mingyu.

Chan looks at him thoughtfully.

“True,” agrees Joshua, “When I first became a trainee I remembered always seeing you two together. You were always holding hands and hanging all over each other. That hasn’t changed.”

The others nod.

“You’re both kind of awkward with each other in public though,” adds Vernon, “like it’s a complete 180. When we’re writing together you’re always closely talking and stuff and then when we have schedules you avoid each other. I’m now realising how weird that is.”

“It’s the shipping,” says Wonwoo, “it makes me feel a little too exposed when fans pick up on every small interaction we have and interpret as something else. Even if it’s the truth, it’s not something we want everyone to know.”

“I understand,” says Vernon, “but fans are gonna ship no matter what. I’ve given up on caring about how they interpret my interactions with anyone.”

“Is this meeting over yet?” asks Mingyu, impatiently.

“No,” says Soonyoung, “I still have a question.”

“In a hurry, Mingyu?” asks Jeonghan, lifting one eyebrow.

“No ridiculous questions,” says Wonwoo, as Soonyoung opens his mouth to speak.

“I wasn’t going to ask a ridiculous question,” Soonyoung protests.

“What is it?” asks Jihoon, “Ask your question so I can go to bed soon.”

“I was just wondering,” says Soonyoung, “when did you guys know?”

“Know what?” asks Wonwoo.

“When did you know that you were in love? How did you fall in love?” asks Soonyoung.

“There was no one defining moment,” answers Wonwoo, “it was just lots of things.”

“Like what?” Jihoon presses.

“Like how Mingyu always carries an extra jacket around because he knows I get cold easily, or how he always asks me if I’ve eaten because sometimes I forget to eat and he makes me food when that happens or like how he always tries to help me when I’m having a hard time and sometimes puts my needs before his own,” answers Wonwoo.

“Wow,” says Jun stunned.

They’re all looking at Wonwoo with tiny, pleased smiles on their faces, he lowers his head in shyness when he realises just how much he’s said. Mingyu is looking at him with bright eyes shining with love and if there was no one in the room but them he would’ve already jumped him.

“Can you do better than that Mingyu?” taunts Seungcheol.

“This is not a competition,” states Jihoon.

“The first time we met, I knew he was someone that I would want in my life forever,” says Mingyu, “Back then I so selfishly wanted to be his centre of attention. I wanted his eyes on me all the time. I thought I just wanted to be his friend. He was the only person who didn’t seem to get annoyed with me or ever grow tired of my company and I loved that. He would always look out for me too and he’s the only person who I can talk to for hours about anything in the world and he’d give me his undivided attention and wouldn’t judge me.”

“This is getting all too mushy,” says Chan.

“That was so sweet I kind of want to puke,” says Soonyoung.

“Is this meeting over yet?” Mingyu asks again, annoyed.

“Yes, Mingyu, it is, finally,” says Jeonghan.

“Love you hyungs,” says Chan getting up from the couch and moving toward his room as the others follow his lead.

“He sounds like he actually means it this time,” comments Joshua.

“I always mean it,” scolds Chan, “even when I just say it to shut you guys up.”

“Hyung, can we switch roommates tonight?”Mingyu asks before Jihoon can leave.

“Fine,” says Jihoon, “Seungcheol hyung, you’re in my room for the night.”

“We’re not making this a regular thing,” shouts Seungcheol as he grabs his pillow and follows Jihoon into the other room.

 

“I’m just glad no one made weird jokes about us,” says Mingyu as they’re both getting ready for bed.

“That’s what you were so nervous about?” asks Wonwoo pulling off his t-shirt.

“Yeah,” says Mingyu tucking himself under the blanket, “you know what they’re like when they start teasing me about something.”

“This is still new to them,” says Wonwoo lying down, “when they get used to it, they will tease us.”

“Can’t wait,” says Mingyu wrapping his arms around Wonwoo, “think we should switch roommates permanently?”

“We both need our own space sometimes,” says Wonwoo, “would that be wise? I don’t want it to cause us to fight more because we’re always in each other’s space.”

“You’re right,” says Mingyu, “We see each other all the time anyway.”

Wonwoo turns in his arms to face him. Mingyu is looking at him with the softest expression is his face and Wonwoo hopes that Mingyu can see the same on his face.

“I love you,” says Wonwoo, simply, “When we were broken up for those few weeks one of the things I kept thinking about was how much I regret not telling you that every day.”

“You show me how much you love me all the time,” whispers Mingyu.

“I don’t want to have any regrets where we’re concerned,” says Wonwoo.

“We won’t,” says Mingyu, “After what we went through I don’t plan on taking any of this for granted.”

Wonwoo nods, tucking his face into Mingyu’s neck.

“I love you too,” whispers Mingyu placing a kiss on his nose.

Wonwoo hums.

They both fall asleep in each other’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic was inspired by the phrase "... what is essential is invisible to the the eye" from 'The Little Prince'.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated!


End file.
